Yelena
Current LVL: 3
EXP: 420/500
HP: 30/30
GLANCE: 20/20
Stronger, re-energized, and re-focused.
Resting in the Everloft really did empower the Delver – just as Lord Jael had alluded to in the Ruminations.
Yet, the pleasures of slumber had done nothing to alleviate the Red-Woman’s clear hatred towards her. As she woke to a new day within the depths of this dungeon, she watched the priestess douse their fire and call to wake Marius up – who immediately began fighting against his unkept bedhead.
“Oh, by Amarata’s flamin’ titties,” he wailed. “My kingdom for a razor blade.”
Yelena ignored his puerile pain and rose to watch the Red-Woman stroking their great beetle guide with adoration. The two of them were part of this world, after all. Yelena reasoned that that, at least, meant something. It meant they were more inexorably linked than she and Marius. They shared a world. An experience. A perspective.
The only thing she and the thief shared was the desire to penetrate into the depths of this place. This great pit she’d only ever thought of as one massive, swirling dungeon full of evil. That’s what the Argents said, right? That was the truth at the heart of Lord Jael’s words. That truth was known to her whenever she fought the possessed animals in the falling snows above – creatures warped beyond belief by the foul demons that wished to leave this wretched place.
Yet, as she looked at the Red-Woman and beetle sharing a moment of almost sisterly love, she was forced to see something different. There was life here. People were living. Human. Monster. Sentient plants. Voidspawn…
It gave her pause. It made her think: what was this thing, truly, that was growing inside her chest?
Did it, too, desire a common perspective? A place to belong…
“We are having to go,” the Red-Woman shouted to them both. “Light will be glowing in Bhashera. We must use it to guide us to the Lightbringer.”
Yelena nodded, saying nothing. Marius, however, was filled with the crankiness of an elderly man woken from his morning nap:
“How d’you know this Lightbringer is even here?” he asked, and as Yelena shot him a patronizing look that said, “you know what her answer will be”, the Red-Woman delivered her reply anyway,
“My faith does not lie,” she said. “The Lady is here. Her power is only growing – and soon we shall bask in her glory.”
With a little chirp from Edna, she led the three of them down a wide catacomb that showed signs of light at its end.
“I really am trying to hard, ain’t I?” he nudged Yelena as they moved along. “’God told me’ is literally the best lie humankind ever came up with. Who needs the persuasion skill? I could justify anything with logic like that.”
“You should be careful, Marius,” Yelena cautioned. “Saying that out loud might just get you killed one day.”
“Same as anything else that comes outta my mouth, then,” he shrugged. “Truth or lie, people don’t ever seem to like what I spin.”
“Why not just pick one, then?” Yelena said. “Or are your morals simply dictated by the flip of a coin?”
He smiled as they descended into the depths of Bhashera proper. “Survival, Yelena,” he replied. “Don’t worry. When I’m ready to die, you can kill me yourself! Ha!”
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The tunnel grew colder. Yelena felt her breath catch in her throat and Marius, though he was too proud to admit it, was starting to shiver at her back.
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“What is this chill?” Yelena asked, staring at the globules of fire that did nothing to heat the passage they were still walking down.
“This is being the end of the catacombs”, the Red-Woman replied, petting the head of the great Edna who was still keeping in step behind her. “Each passage to the city of Bhashera is offering different challenge to those who are walking within. Be keeping your wits about you.”
Yelena accepted this as her hand flew to rest on her sword, keeping her eyes front, trying to look past the veil of the Red-Woman into the endless dark that stretched beyond.
Then, from behind, she felt Marius stiffen.
“Wait,” he said.
She did nothing at first and was about to turn to rebuke him for holding them up when she felt his icy hand slap her shoulder.
“WAIT!” he snapped.
Their convoy instantly halted. No one moved. No one made a sound.
“Marius,” Yelena finally whispered. “What are we waiting for?”
He slunk to the front of their group and started palming the walls, uncharacteristically focused. Studying him, she saw that his eyes were aflame with the hazy-white mist that spoke of Everloftian influence – he was applying one of his abilities.
“Here,” he whispered.
He palmed a piece of loose sandstone and traced his fingers along its edges.
“Difficulty: Easy,” he said, closing his eyes and sweeping the stone with his hand.
Just as Yelena was about to protest, she heard the distinct snapping of a spring, and the wall panel came loose, revealing an intricate mechanism comprising cogs, a rubber feeder-spool, and what looked like a miniature crossbow.
“Check it,” he said, still whispering with awe. “Little booby trap someone left for us.”
The Red-Woman gave a huff of approval and was about to simply continue on. But, Yelena had to admit, for once the rogue had impressed her.
“How did you know?” she asked him. She had felt nothing. Seen no signs or indications of this impediment in their way. Indeed, inspecting the vicious looking bands of bolts attached the to device, she was sure the mechanism could have ripped right through her skull and ended her delve right here.
“Just gotta have the right eyes,” Marius chuckled and, before Yelena could press him further, he grabbed her arm and she felt the explanation form before her unsuspecting eyes:
Tumblersmithy: LVL 2 You are skilled in the use of lockpicks and trap disarm tools. When using such tools, your unlock/disarm chance is increased Level 2 REF Buff: +5 vs “Easy” device.
She stared at him blankly as he lifted his eyebrows, thoroughly impressed with himself as usual.
“Joined the Level 3 club last night,” he explained. “With a little bit of juicy EXP to spare, no less. Figured it like this: if anywhere’s gonna have traps galore, it’s gonna be a place with a buncha narrow-ass corridors and darkened rooms, eh? So, I decided I’d pick up this useful lil’ skill just us thieves have at our disposal. And with my additional AP – Attribute points, right? – slapped into my Reflexes, I’m even more nimble and ready to mingle with the best traps and pesky locked doors.”
She blinked away the laughter rising in her throat.
“That…actually sounds useful.”
“You say that like you're surprised!”
The Red-Woman began to continue down the increasingly narrow passage, completely ignoring him and his new found usefulness.
“Hm. The silent but biting type, that one,” Marius scoffed.
He made to move off and rejoin the convoy, but Yelena held him back a moment by the scruff of his neck.
“Hold on,” she said. “That skill said you had an increased 'Chance,’ right?”
He licked his dry lips. “Yup,” he said simply. “Be too easy if I just automatically succeeded, right? The Everloft’s a bastard, but I will say this: it seems to have its own warped sense of fairness.”
She shook her head, trying to make him understand.
“That means,” she began, slowly. “You could have failed.”
“Wellllllll,” he whistled. “With my Reflexes at a respectable fourteen, that puts my bonus at +7. Add that to the juicy little +5 and you’ve got a whopping +12 bonus. This "Easy" trap here said that gave me a 75% chance of success. Not bad at all, if I do say so myself.”
At his beaming face and unchanging smile, Yelena could only blink.
“Anyway, no need to thank me, just-“
“That means you had a 25% chance to fail.”
By this time the Red-Woman had stopped near the end of the corridor, waiting at the doorway that heralded a new room. Curiously she didn’t turn back to watch them, but Yelena was sure she was listening. For what purpose, she couldn’t know.
“Well, yeah, sure,” he said, smile unyielding. “But I didn’t.”
“But you could have.”
“But I did-“
“Enough of that!” she yelled, louder, admittedly, than she’d intended to. Her furious tone echoed down the hall and returned to her, like a feral beast clawing its way back to its monstrous master.
“You always have a plan, don’t you?” she said, more reserved, cornering him against the side of the hallway. “But it’s only in your head. Everyone else just has to trust you. When will you do the same to us?”
He said nothing. But, this time, he did not meet her gaze.
“You seem more than willing to stake the lives of others on your successes or failures,” she said, not knowing what compelled her to press him further. “You said up there on the Sands that we were a team. But if we’re going to work together, here, then you need to trust me, too. I need to know what you’re thinking. Otherwise-“
“Otherwise, what, kid?” he broke in. “You’ll take the head from my shoulders just like you did those Tigran guards?”
She looked at him – she didn’t know how she was looking at him – but as she dropped her gaze to her hand, she saw it had balled into a fist.
“I don’t want –“ she began, not knowing how to say the words she needed to. “I don’t want to hurt you, Marius.”
He walked away from her without answering her back, nodding to the Red-Woman who glanced back with the same hint of disdain she’d shown Yelena since their eyes had first met.
She let him go, and followed on begrudgingly, hearing his final quip just before they entered into the city of Bhashera itself.
He whispered it, perhaps thinking its echo would not carry. Still, however, she heard it. It rang in her ears with more intensity than her own guilty thoughts raging through her mind:
“Wouldn’t it be funny if that was true?”